WASHINGTON, D.C.—Jacques-Edouard Alexis, former prime minister of Haiti, will speak at American University on Friday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to noon in Room 200 of AU’s Mary Graydon Center. Alexis will discuss the efforts needed to rebuild Haiti following devastating hurricanes and political and economic unrest.

The event, which is sponsored by AU’s Council on Latin America, will be moderated by AU School of International Service professor Charles Call. A question-and-answer period with the audience will follow the speech.

Alexis served as prime minister of Haiti from 1999 to 2001 and 2006 to 2008. During his most recent term, he proposed a series of major economic reforms focused on poverty reduction and sustainable development. These reforms were never enacted due in part to unprecedented food and gas crises that led to increased economic and political instability, culminating in riots and Alexis’s departure from public office.

Haiti has recently been ravaged by multiple hurricanes exacerbating preexisting economic and political strife. Alexis’s proposed reforms and ideas for development have led many to mark him as a likely future presidential contender.

American University is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the United States and nearly 140 countries. Located in Washington, D.C., the university provides opportunities for academic excellence, public service, and internships in the nation’s capital and around the world.